Myths of the 1 Percent: What Puts People at the Top
- 6 years ago
Myths of the 1 Percent: What Puts People at the Top
Without changes in these largely domestic services industries — finance, health care, the law
— the United States would look like Canada or Germany in terms of its top income shares.
A new book, “The Captured Economy” by Brink Lindsey and Steven Teles, argues
that regressive regulations — laws that benefit the rich — are a primary cause of the extraordinary income gains among elite professionals and financial managers in the United States and of a reduction in growth.
In fact, the countries that have absorbed the most immigrants — on a per-capita basis
— have seen overall income inequality (measured by the Gini coefficient) fall.
Dispelling misconceptions about what’s driving income inequality in the U. S.
Income inequality inspires fierce debate around the world, and no shortage of proposed solutions.
Countries with higher rates of invention — as measured by patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation
Treaty, an indicator of patent quality — exhibit lower inequality than those with less inventive activity.
In the United States, the richest 1 percent have seen their share of national income roughly double since 1980, to 20 percent in 2014 from 11 percent.
As it happens, tech industries in the United States have contributed just a tiny bit to the rise of the 1 percent,
and the salaries of engineers and software developers rarely reach the 1 percent threshold of an annual income of $390,000.
Without changes in these largely domestic services industries — finance, health care, the law
— the United States would look like Canada or Germany in terms of its top income shares.
A new book, “The Captured Economy” by Brink Lindsey and Steven Teles, argues
that regressive regulations — laws that benefit the rich — are a primary cause of the extraordinary income gains among elite professionals and financial managers in the United States and of a reduction in growth.
In fact, the countries that have absorbed the most immigrants — on a per-capita basis
— have seen overall income inequality (measured by the Gini coefficient) fall.
Dispelling misconceptions about what’s driving income inequality in the U. S.
Income inequality inspires fierce debate around the world, and no shortage of proposed solutions.
Countries with higher rates of invention — as measured by patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation
Treaty, an indicator of patent quality — exhibit lower inequality than those with less inventive activity.
In the United States, the richest 1 percent have seen their share of national income roughly double since 1980, to 20 percent in 2014 from 11 percent.
As it happens, tech industries in the United States have contributed just a tiny bit to the rise of the 1 percent,
and the salaries of engineers and software developers rarely reach the 1 percent threshold of an annual income of $390,000.